Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, gram-negative bacteria that is known to cause numerous illnesses, including food poisoning and typhoid fever. Salmonella infections can be transferred from animals to humans and can be acquired through the ingestion of food contaminated with Salmonella. In infections involving entiridis-type Salmonella, which is responsible for food poisoning, the organism typically enters the digestive tract through ingestion. In healthy adults, Salmonella generally must be ingested in large numbers to cause any disease. However, in young children, ingestion of a relatively small number of bacteria has been shown to cause disease due to the increased susceptibility of this population. With regard to the course of Salmonella infection, the bacteria typically incubate for up to one day before symptoms of infection appear. After that incubation period, intestinal inflammation occurs, resulting in diarrhea that is often bloody. Symptoms are generally mild with no sepsis, though sepsis can occur in immunocompromised individuals. Additionally, Salmonella meningitis can occur in children.
Because of its mode of transmission and the seriousness of some infections, detection of Salmonella in samples, such as food or beverage samples, is critical to the safety of the population. As such, it is desirable to have a test for the rapid and accurate detection of Salmonella in a sample.